This recipe (two recipes, actually!) comes from my latest cookbook, Practically Raw Desserts. It’s blazing hot here in the Midwest, and the last thing I want to do is turn on my oven. No-bake treats FTW! As with all the recipes in PRD, these are no-bake, vegan, made entirely of real food ingredients, and endlessly adaptable.

These Devil’s Food Cupcakes (found on page 109 of Practically Raw Desserts) are topped with a luscious Fluffy Chocolate Frosting (found on page 189). They’re soft, moist, and devilishly delicious, and will make any chocolate lover swoon.

One more thing: a note about coconut flour (as stated in my Enlightened Carrot Cake post)…no, you cannot substitute any other flour in its place. I know, I’m the queen of ingredient substitutions (and every recipe in Practically Raw Desserts, just as in Practically Raw, comes with a list of ingredient substitution options), but coconut flour is the one staple ingredient that can never be substituted—it is indispensable in the recipes that call for it. Coconut flour absorbs many times its weight in liquid, FAR more than any other flour can, so it is irreplaceable. However, I promise you that if you go out and invest in a bag today, you will easily be able to put all of it to great use! I utilize coconut flour in a number of the recipes in Practically Raw Desserts (particularly the cake recipes, for the fluffy moisture it lends them), so you’ll definitely use it up. Bob’s Red Mill brand coconut flour is sold at most stores (even non-natural-food stores), though in my opinion, it’s priced a little too high. Personally, I get my organic coconut flour very affordably from Nuts.com (which is actually where I do a great deal of my bulk shopping—for nuts, seeds, dried fruit, etc.). Another option is to grab a bag on Amazon—and if you order a copy of Practically Raw Desserts at the same time, you could even get the free super saver shipping deal.

To make the cupcakes, combine the applesauce, maple syrup, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt in a food processor or stand mixer and blend until smooth and combined.

Add the cacao powder and blend until smooth.

Add the almond flour and blend again until smooth.

Finally, add the coconut flour and pulse or blend until well-combined. The mixture will be very thick and dough-like.

Divide the dough between 8 large or 20 mini muffin cups (with or without paper liners), pressing firmly and evenly into each. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To make the frosting, combine the avocados, maple syrup, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt in a food processor. Blend until smooth and combined.

Add the cacao powder and blend again until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Just before serving, remove the cupcakes from the fridge and top each cupcake with a dollop or swirl of Fluffy Chocolate Frosting.

Store leftover unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 weeks. Store leftover frosting in a glass jar or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Variations:
Nut-Free Devil’s Food Cupcakes: Replace the almond flour with Sunflour (recipe can be found in Practically Raw Desserts).
Paleo Devil's Food Cupcakes: Use runny raw honey in place of the maple syrup in both the cupcakes and frosting.
Comida del Diablo Cupcakes: Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper along with the cacao powder.
German Chocolate Cupcakes: Top the cupcakes with the coconut-pecan frosting from the German Chocolate Cake (recipe can be found in Practically Raw Desserts) instead of the Fluffy Chocolate Frosting.
Pick-Your-Poison Devil’s Food Cupcakes: Replace the vanilla extract with 1/2 teaspoon of another flavor extract, such as coffee, hazelnut, almond, or peppermint.
Fluffy Flavored Frosting: Replace the vanilla extract with 1/2 teaspoon of another flavor extract, such as coffee, hazelnut, or almond.

Darn! You could certainly experiment with replacing the coconut flour with something like oat flour, but I have no idea how much, and I’m pretty certain they’ll be much heavier and less fluffy. I can’t vouch for the texture myself since I haven’t tried them that way, but if you do give it a go, let me know how they turn out!

Wow, these look and sound devilishly delicious (see what I did there? ha!)
Do you think it would still work out if I were to replace the liquid sweetener with stevia and add either more applesauce, or some almond milk?
oh, and do you find there’s a big difference between homemade coconut flour, and the store bought? I’ve used homemade before and NEVER get good results. fail.

A LOT of the recipes in PRD are either naturally no-sugar-added or come with directions to make them so, but this is one that I did not feel comfortable finagling to be sugar-free. The maple syrup is pretty integral to the texture, so I can’t recommend it be removed completely. However, you could try cutting it down by about 1/3 (to 1/2 cup in the cupcakes and 1/3 cup in the frosting), adding stevia to taste, and adding more applesauce as needed to make up for the missing moisture. I just personally wouldn’t try removing it completely. That said, if you’re up for some major experimentation with no guarantee of results (hehe), then go for it! And please let me know how they turn out.

As for the coconut flour, definitely always use storebought. Homemade “coconut flour” made from desiccated coconut is just shreds of whole dried coconut meat ground that into a coarse powder, so it retains 100% of the fat and moisture – not what we’re looking for here. But with [storebought] coconut flour, mature coconut meat is blended in liquid and strained, and then the leftover solids are dried and ground into a fine, fluffy flour which is high in fiber and low in fat. That’s what creates the magically fluffy texture.

Hi Meredith – unfortunately no, you cannot. Desiccated coconut is just shreds of whole dried coconut meat, so if you try to grind that, it will retain 100% of the fat and moisture – not what we’re looking for here. (Not to mention, it’s all too easy to grind it all the way into coconut BUTTER, because it’s so lusciously fatty!)
But with storebought coconut flour, mature coconut meat is blended in liquid and strained, and then the leftover solids are dried and ground into a fine, fluffy flour which is high in fiber and low in fat. That’s what creates the magical texture.

To all the coconut flour doubters: YOU ARE MISSING OUT!!! Seriously, buy a bag right now, you can find coconut flour anywhere and on the cheap (I got my bag at Natural Grocers for $5 and I havent even used up half of it!) PRD is my go-to book for desserts because the recipes are healthful, but taste as rich and scrumptious as “normal” recipes. Its a win-win situation!

These cupcakes are to die for; I made them last month and they are, so far, my favorite PRD recipe. The frosting is what takes them to a whole new level… The texture is unreal, dreamy-fluffy and smooth.

Amber, I’m making Tom the peach-vanilla cobbler for dessert tonight. We’re watching the All-Star Game and eating beer brauts… The cobbler recipe was the perfect dessert for our very American date night. 😉

I made these yesterday – my first raw cupcake! They are amazing!! I guess it’s the coconut flour that gives them the texture of a baked cake. I used 1/2 cup of maple syrup + 3 tablespoons of a xylitol/stevia mix – no problem at all.

Yes ma’am – all the recipes in both books are entirely gluten- and dairy-free! The only possible exception is minimal use of oats here and there (only 5 out of 100 recipes in PRD, for example), but of course, just grab gluten-free oats. PRD is also entirely soy-free, and PR is very low-soy (just a bit of [GF] tamari and miso paste here and there).

Wow Amber these look sooo good. I love that you use applesauce and all that coconut flour in there!!! I was contacted to do a review of PRD but it hasn’t arrived and that was months ago… maybe they couldn’t send to Canada? Or got lost in the mail?

[…] more thing: a note about coconut flour (as stated in both my Enlightened Carrot Cake post and my Devil’s Food Cupcakes post)…no, you cannot substitute any other flour in its place. I know, I’m the queen of […]

[…] these cute? These tiny treats were inspired by and adapted from the wonderful Devil’s Food Cupcakes from Practically Raw Desserts. They are, of course, not actually cupcakes in the strict sense of […]

[…] these cute? These tiny treats were inspired by and adapted from the wonderful Devil’s Food Cupcakes from Practically Raw Desserts. They are, of course, not actually cupcakes in the strict sense of […]